Popular

October 11, 2011

NASA Gets An Icy Cold Wink From Hurricane Jova’s Eye

by editor

Several NASA satellites have been following Hurricane Jova since birth and over the last day, Jova's eye has "winked" at them.

Satellite imagery from NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites have shown that Jova's eye was only sometimes visible and other times appeared cloud covered, making it appear as Jova "winking." Other satellites, such as NOAA's GOES-11 satellite captured Jova's "winks."

In a visible image of Hurricane Jova from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite on Oct. 10 at 1:40 p.m. EDT, the eye was clearly visible. A visible image from NOAA's GOES-11 satellite on Oct. 11 at 12:45 p.m. EDT showed Jova's eye "closed" (or cloud-filled). The NASA GOES Project and the MODIS Rapid Response Teams are both located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and processed those images.

In addition to Jova's wink, the infrared AIRS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite got a cold stare from Jova's eye. Infrared data measures cloud top temperatures, and NASA AIRS instrument noticed they were as cold as -80 Celsius (-112 Fahrenheit) in the thunderstorms in Jova's eyewall. Those frigid cloud top temperatures indicate there's a tremendous amount of power in the storm. The colder the cloud tops, the higher and stronger they are- and Jova is very powerful.

Today, dangerous Hurricane Jova continues to slowly approach the southwestern coast of Mexico today. At 11 a.m. EDT today, Oct. 11, it was near 17.8 North and 105.6 West. That's about 120 miles (190 km) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, and 180 miles (290 km) south of Cabo Corrientes. Jova's maximum sustained winds were near 115 mph (185 kmh). Jova is moving to the north-northeast at 5 mph (7 kmh). The National Hurricane Center expects Jova to speed up a little and turn to the north tonight. That means that the eye of the hurricane will approach the Mexican coast today and make landfall this evening.

Warnings continue to be in effect for Mexico as Jova slowly nears. A Hurricane warning is in effect from Punta San Telmo to Cabo Corrientes. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Lazaro Cardenas to Punta San Telmo and Cabo Corrientes to El Roblito. Residents in the warning areas can expect significant flooding from storm surge and rough seas. Rainfall is forecast between 6 and 12 inches, with isolated totals to 20 inches. Residents should check local forecasts and prepare for this powerful hurricane.

---

Image Caption: The visible image of Hurricane Jova on the left was taken from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite on Oct. 10 at 1:40 p.m. EDT. Jova's extreme northeastern clouds are already over western Mexico, and the eye is clearly visible. On the right, a visible image from the GOES-11 satellite on Oct. 11 at 12:45 p.m. EDT shows Jova's eye "closed." Credit: Credit: NASA Goddard/MODIS Rapid Response Team/ NASA-NOAA GOES Project